Morality vs Moralism

"Moralism is the last refuge of the pervert" stated Archbishop Lazar. At first, these words struck me and I was taken aback by them. But then, I thought about the roots of morality and moralism. Morality, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, is "principles concerning the distinction between right and wrong or good and bad behavior." Moralism, according to the same, is "the practice of moralizing, especially showing a tendency to make judgments about others' morality."

What people seem to like is having black and white rules. Thou shalt not kill or thou shalt not steal. But, what if killing protects the lives of others? What if stealing keeps your children alive? Life is full of very few black and white answers, despite what fundamentalists would tell you. And, sadly, when many of them realize this it is too late. I was recently speaking with a lady whose father was pastor of a church. Unfortunately, his wife did not want to stay married and divorced him. Ultimately, he lost his job as pastor and was shunned by the church because of something outside of his control. Sometimes, things are more complicated than they seem.

How does this affect us as clergy? Well, history has taught us that we can fall into moralism easier than anyone else. We have all made judgments about others that were unkind or unfair. Our job is to share what the church teaches and each individual has to use their own conscience to dictate what is best for them and their relationship with God. To judge another is to neglect our own place as "chief of sinners" (1 Tim. 1:15). 

There are times when we have to admonish each other. But, when it is done from a place of goodness the intention is different as in Rom. 15:14: "and concerning you, my brethren, I myself also am convinced that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able also to admonish one another." Admonishing each other in sincerity and privacy is ideal, rather than criticizing someone for everyone to see. This does nothing but divides us and brings joy to the evil one.

“To judge sins is the business of one who is sinless, but who is sinless except God? Who ever thinks about the multitude of his own sins in his heart never wants to make the sins of others a topic of conversation. To judge a man who has gone astray is a sign of pride, and God resists the proud. On the other hand, one who every hour prepares himself to give answer for his own sins will not quickly lift up his head to examine the mistakes of others.” — St. Gennadius of Constantinople, The Golden Chain, 53-55

Morality vs Moralizing

I recently came across an obituary that stopped me in my tracks. It was a remembrance of Father James (Jim) Doherty of Glasgow. It is hard not to be struck by the stories listed in The Telegraph about him. Hagiography or not, they provide insight into the life of what sounds like an extraordinary priest. Here is one of the stories, courtesy of The Telegraph:

His bluntness irked the bishops, but to the laity it spelt sincerity and an absence of snobbery. An oft-repeated story told of Doherty ringing up a woman who had not been to church for years to see if she would like him to bless her home. “The old priest never came to see us,” the woman said, “because of our living arrangements – you see, I’m living with my partner and we’ve three bairns out of wedlock.”

“I’m here to bless your house, honey, not judge your circumstances,” replied Doherty. “Where do you live?”

“Oh, thank you father. We live in a flat, our name is Smith, but press the top buzzer. There are Smiths below us, but you don’t want to go there because they’re a couple of poofs.”

“Is that right? Well, see, if I do press the wrong buzzer and I get the two poofs, I’ll just say: ‘Hello you two poofs, can you tell me where the two fornicating adulterers and their three bastard children live?’ ”

A characteristic act of Doherty’s was to attach an HIV red ribbon to a statue of St Vincent. And in 2005 he addressed the Scottish Parliament. “Having a morality and moralising are two different things,” he said. “My Church has been trying to get its own house in order since it began.”

This story points out an important issue: there is a difference between morality and moralizing. For us as Christians, we are called to examine ourselves frequently and even harshly. Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk reminds us: "Let us examine these things and the rest, and let us look at how we live, how we conduct ourselves, how we think, how we talk, how we act, with what kind of heart we go about before the God who sees all things, how we treat one another." Our morality and ethics are how we judge ourselves.

Yet, so often we have the desire to moralize and judge others. Saint Maximus the Confessor says: "Whoever is curious to know about the sins of others or judges his brother out of suspicion has not yet begun to repent, neither does he care to know about his own sins, heavier than heaviest lead indeed. He does not know why people are heavy-hearted, take pleasure in vanity and seek after falsehood (Psalms 4:3). So, as a madman wandering in the dark and neglecting his own sins, he muses on the sins of others—either real or imaginary—guided by his suspicion. "

As clergy and laity, let us focus on our own sins and not the sins of others. There are, of course, times when things must be dealt with accordingly. Those in the church have swept things under the rug far too often. This does not mean we turn a blind eye to grave scandal or someone is being injured, hurt, or in imminent danger. In these circumstances, we have a moral imperative to stop evil from occurring. Besides the harmful actions of others, when it comes to their sins, we leave those to God who is the only true judge.

To view Fr. Jim's requiem, click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPkMvmb1JwI. To read the obituary in The Telegraph, view here: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2022/01/21/fr-james-big-jim-doherty-well-loved-glasgow-catholic-priest/.

“Those who look well after their own consciences rarely fall into the sin of judging others.” – St. Francis de Sales